Does Ouya offer a more emotional gaming experience?

Trent Nouveau, 18th March 2013

Ouya's long-awaited console has yet to hit the market, but that hasn't stopped Julie Uhrman from claiming the Android-powered system will offer a more "emotional" experience than can be found on typical mobile devices like tablets.

"You're not having an emotional experience on a tablet," Uhrman told audiences at Engadget's recent Expand conference. "You're not engaged. It's more of a
distraction."

According to Uhrman, part of maintaining the emotional aspect of gaming on any system is keeping the controller as an integral part of the experience.

As AppleInsider's Kevin Bostic notes, while numerous companies do offer controller peripherals for both Android and iOS devices, they aren't supported by the vast majority of developers.

In contrast, says Uhrman, the Ouya's very design lends itself to greater emotional involvement in a game, with the controller made from sturdy aluminum which offers gamers a cold feel of metal and an instant connection to a game.

"We want to really enable creativity and bring games back to the television, but we wanted to do it in an inexpensive and accessible way," she explained.

"We wanted to bring the best business model — mobile — to the television. That means you have to build something that's incredibly powerful and yet inexpensive."

It should be noted that Project Ouya project managed to raise an impressive $8,596,474 on Kickstarter, with the full support of 63,416 backers.

Unsurprisingly, Ouya is already prepping an updated version of the console, with Uhrman going so far as to say a new iteration of the system will be available each and every year with as much mobile processing power as possible under the hood.

"If we could do it for less than $99, we would. Our strategy is very much similar to the mobile strategy. There will be a new Ouya every year. There will be an Ouya 2 and an Ouya 3," Uhrman said back in February.

"We'll take advantage of faster, better processors, take advantage of prices falling. So if we can get more than 8GB of Flash in our box, we will."